The Order of Business for today is No. 2, Youth Work Bill, 2000 – Second Stage, with the contributions of spokespersons not to exceed 20 minutes and of all other Senators not to exceed 15 minutes, and Senators may share time; and No. 16, motion 20, to be taken from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., with business, if not previously concluded, to resume thereafter.
Order of Business.
The Order of Business is agreed. When does the Leader intend to circulate the list of proposed legislation, which was promised? I ask for it because I fear that in the last or second last week before the Christmas recess, the House will be inundated with legislation. This has happened in the past. The House should be presented with legislation in an orderly fashion. I would be very thankful if I received that list as soon as possible.
One issue that is raised constantly in this House is the traffic congestion around the country. There is now a clear need for measures to be taken. Recently, the Automobile Association raised the question of free passage through the toll bridge on the M50. That is just one of many issues – I am not suggesting that we look at this alone. We have not had a full debate on traffic arrangements and how effective the Government's policy is in dealing with the problem. Will the Leader consider inviting the Minister for the Environment and Local Government to the House to outline the plans in this regard? It could also be done in conjunction with a debate on road developments, which are likely to take place. Senators have asked for such a debate before. In the meantime, it would be appropriate not to toll traffic going through the toll bridge during the peak hours in the morning and afternoon to get a free flow of traffic on the M50, which caters for people from all over the country travelling to Dublin, as well as Dublin people.
Will the Leader of the House arrange for a debate on the economy? This has been requested on a number of occasions. Developments are taking place from day to day that warrant debate, the most recent one being an indication by the Minister for Finance that he may cut back on the national development plan. There is a whole range of issues in terms of services and the commitments that will be made by the Government. Coming up to the budget on 6 December, it would be worthwhile if we had a decent, broad ranging debate on the issue so we can hear what the Minister is thinking and make a contribution.
Will the Leader arrange for the Minister for the Environment and Local Government to come to the House to discuss the waste management strategy, which seems to be falling apart? The recent Supreme Court decision in the Cork Corporation case which indicated that the corpor ation was not entitled to penalise householders by not collecting their household waste if they refuse to pay will cause a logistical nightmare if any of the local authorities proceed with it. Dublin Corporation has collected only about a quarter of the amount billed for this year alone. Clearly the number of bills outstanding is more than 100,000. Imagine that number of cases going through the courts. We are faced with a nightmare and we need to know what is taking place, especially as we are approaching the adoption of estimates in local authorities. A range of issues needs to be addressed but first and foremost is the waste management strategy of the Minister for the Environment and Local Government.
There has been a number of calls recently from Members, including Senator Burke, for a debate on the insurance industry. I repeat that call to the Leader. Will he make arrangements for us to discuss personal injuries claims? The editor of the Irish Medical Directory alleged recently that personal injuries claims cost this country £1.2 billion last year. That is very serious. The same doctor alleged that a number of doctors are being bullied by solicitors in the manner in which these claims are advanced. Doctors are under a sufficiency of pressures with the increased expectations of patients on the one hand and shrinking resources on the other without being bullied by even one solicitor. This is an issue which causes me grave concern and it needs to be debated fully in the House. Will the Leader attend to that?
Will the Leader ask the Minister for Education and Science to come to the House to debate certain education issues? A specific matter was raised with me recently and I would like to know where responsibility lies in the Department of Education and Science for the vetting of textbooks used in schools. I will give an example so that the Leader can see the enormity of the problem.
Inappropriate and controversial language was used in a little poem meant to stimulate students. In the poem a computer is asked what it thinks of grandparents, and it answers that they should be exterminated because they are useless and not of any value. I consider that emotive and inappropriate language for a young child who possibly believes a computer does not tell lies. No one seems to know where this book came from, how it was included in the curriculum and who vets the curriculum.
We know when Gemma Hussey was Minister that she gender proofed textbooks and vetted them with regard to inappropriate language relating to males and females. I would hate to think issues such as this might creep into textbooks because someone was not keeping a watchful eye. Is it the responsibility of the National Council for Curriculum Assessment or is left to teachers? Do the Minister's officials check these books? It is time for a debate in light of this controversial issue.
We should have a debate on the "compo" culture and on insurance. We had a debate on this topic a few years ago and many of the things I said then are now being said by the doctor to whom Senator Quill referred. We all know lawyers would not advertise "no foal, no fee" services were they not making a great deal of money. Unfortunately, the awards people receive amount to very little once lawyers, doctors and banks are paid. Lawyers encourage people to borrow money on the basis of the awards they will receive. They borrow for two or three years and, when they get the money, they must pay back double what they borrowed and the entire award is squandered. It is a system which should be abolished.
Senator Farrell is pre-empting the debate he seeks.
Solicitors also make deals with clients and we do not know what awards are made. They tell clients that they will get them £20,000 or £30,000—
Senator Farrell should reserve the detail for the debate he seeks.
It is necessary to have this debate.
Will the Leader arrange for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy O'Donoghue, to explain to the House the working of the law on asylum? I will give one reason it is of immediate urgency. In light of the fact that he concluded an agreement with the Nigerian authorities recently and that he apparently regards that country as a safe place to which to return people from here, I highlight the case of a young woman, Safiya Hussaini Tungar-Tudu – it may be a funny name but what happened to her is not the slightest bit funny – who had sexual relations outside marriage and became pregnant. She has been sentenced to death by stoning. The court has decided that, immediately on delivering the baby, the woman is to be stoned to death. This is an outrage. The House ought to investigate the thinking behind the apparent belief of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that it is safe to return people to a jurisdiction which has laws such as these and which implements them fully.
Can we have a debate on transport, especially on those routes entering Dublin, such as the Naas dual carriageway and the M1, and on the M50? Does the Minister have a strategy in mind for the Dublin region whose traffic problems will peak between now and Christmas? Unless there is a traffic management plan and gardaí implementing it from early on, there will be a complete stalemate within a week. It is timely for the Minister to come to the House and give us a warning about what plans he has in mind so that the public will understand something will be done about this.
Has the Government decided to allow the construction of another terminal at Dublin Airport? Are arrangements being put in place to provide greater space at the existing terminal for Ryanair and other low cost airlines?
In light of the brief announcement by the Minister for Finance regarding the national development plan, I support the call for a further debate on the economy. It would be appropriate in this context.
I join other Members in their call for a debate on the insurance industry, especially given the huge and ongoing concern about the ever increasing cost of motor insurance.
I also support calls for a debate on the insurance industry. Will the Leader ask the relevant Minister to explain to us how the Government plans to deal with the implications for many bodies throughout the country, such as local authorities and voluntary agencies and groups, of the massive increase in insurance costs, especially since the events of 11 September? It is clear that insurance costs have doubled in many cases, especially public liability insurance costs. The Government will have to take a view on it at some stage because many groups will make a case to it that they cannot afford to meet these insurance costs.
Can we get clarity at some stage on where the national development plan lies given the confusing signals we receive from different sources at Government level? Members are entitled to know over what timescale the Government intends to roll out the national development plan and how it plans to fund it. Will the Leader ask the Minister for Finance to explain this to the House so that we would at least have clarity on the issue?
My concern, which might be related to and could be raised under the issue of transport, which was raised by Senator Ormonde, is the cost of parking in Dublin city. A pay and display system is in operation. Last night I saw six cars clamped near the hotel where I stay. I am sure they could have been country people who came up to Dublin and, in their innocence, did not know that one must pay and display from 7 a.m. until midnight. It would not be too bad if it were from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. but until midnight is a pure disgrace. It is an unfair means of exacting money from people. Those whose cars were clamped had to pay a large amount of money to have the clamps removed. Will the Leader use his influence to ensure shorter hours are introduced for the pay and display system so as to be fair to everyone?
No. 16, motion 14 on the Order Paper refers to the fact that we are not reaching our EU water quality standards. This motion has been tabled for some weeks. Will the Leader give us a likely date for that debate and indicate when the Minister for the Environment and Local Government can come to the House? People are extremely concerned about this matter, a debate on which would provide Members with the opportunity to discuss the question of the fluoridation of water and whether we are able to challenge this rather than assuming that what we have accepted in the past will automatically be the case. The fact that we are not reaching EU requirements in regard to water quality is a matter worthy of serious consideration by everyone.
I support calls for a debate on the insurance industry. I know the Leader has a keen interest in this area and ask him to arrange a wide ranging debate on all aspects of the industry. We are faced with a ludicrous situation where young people who do not have insurance are driving cars. In addition, business people are either unable to afford to pay for public liability cover on their premises or cannot obtain such cover.
Will the Leader arrange for the Minister for the Environment and Local Government to come to the House to discuss local government, particularly in light of the fact that most local authorities are in the process of adopting their estimates? Great pressures and additional costs are being placed on them on foot of the requirements in Better Local Government and their responsibility for the disposal of refuse. The Minister for the Environment and Local Government has imposed a £15 per tonne charge on local authority waste delivered to dumps. Nobody knows to where this money will go, but the charge is placing an added burden on local authorities. Will the Leader, as a matter of urgency, ask the Minister to come to the House to discuss the matter?
Senator Joe Doyle inquired about the list of legislation it is proposed to take between now and Christmas. I hope to provide the House with details of the list tomorrow morning. I remind the House that the long awaited statements on FÁS – its achievements and future programme – and job creation will be taken tomorrow. I look forward to many Members being present and contributing to the debate. On one day last week a total of 11 Senators called for this debate to be taken.
Senators O'Toole, Ormonde, Rory Kiely and Costello requested a debate on traffic flows and traffic congestion with the Minister for the Envir onment and Local Government. In light of Senator Kiely's alarming statement that cars are being clamped up to midnight, particularly in areas of the north inner city, I remind those public representatives who are not from the city of Dublin, but fortunate enough to be members of Dublin Corporation that they should not forget the land where they were born. It is disgraceful that cars should be clamped at that time of night. Certain citizens in the area employ people in vast numbers—
The Senator should declare his interests.
—and are assisting – I include Senator Norris in this – in rebuilding the Georgian part of Dublin to which Senator Kiely referred.
Some people want to make it a traffic free zone.
Where are people going out for the evening going to park their cars?
What about the people who live in the houses in the area in question?
There is no necessity for clamping cars after 7 p.m. I hope this matter will be discussed when the debate with the Minister takes place.
Senators Costello and O'Meara requested a debate on the economy. As everyone knows, the Minister for Finance may have been misrepresented, misread or misheard on radio in recent days. There will be no cut backs on the national development plan, it is merely being realigned. I can only guess that the reasons for this came about on foot of the events of 11 September. There has never been as much money available and never will there have been as much money spent in the history of the State as will be spent during the next five to six years, particularly on the development of roads and other parts of our infrastructure. Those Members – there are few enough in the House – who provide employment and are involved in job creation are looking forward to work beginning in earnest, I hope, in the third quarter of next year.
Senator Costello also called for a debate on waste management. As I have already stated, this is the single greatest challenge facing local authorities. Last week's judgment is going to make matters extremely difficult. I will make time available for a debate on this matter in the not too distant future.
Senators Quill, Farrell, Coghlan, O'Meara and Burke asked for an urgent debate on the insurance industry. I have already indicated that such a debate will take place, I am merely trying to find a suitable date on which the Minister can come to the House. I will pass on the points raised by the Senators to him.
Senator Jackman requested a debate on edu cation for which I will have no difficulty in making time available. Senator Norris called for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to come to the House and expressed strong views on the asylum laws and the plight of asylum seekers. I will communicate those views to the Minister and see if a debate can be arranged as soon as possible.
Senator Coghlan inquired about Ryanair. I understand the Senator has access to a sympathetic ear in Government and spends many hours each week dealing with this matter. I know he is tempting a reply, but he already knows what the answer will be.
Senator Quinn called for a debate on water quality. I welcome the statement by the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Mary Wallace, on this matter in the past week. In light of the sentiments expressed in that statement and also the request from Senator Quinn, I will have no difficulty in making time available for such a debate.
Senator Burke requested a debate on better local government, in respect of which I will have no difficulty in making time available.
Order of Business agreed to.